


A Halloween Dare

by StrictlyFromCorn (orphan_account)



Series: Fred Astaire x Ginger Rogers [3]
Category: Actor RPF, American Actor RPF, Astaire/Rogers RPF, Classic Hollywood - Fandom, Fred Astaire/Ginger Rogers Movies
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-10-31
Updated: 2013-10-31
Packaged: 2017-12-31 02:28:55
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,132
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1026204
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/StrictlyFromCorn
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Fred and Ginger are dared to spend the night in an abandoned amusement park by Pan, George, and Ira. They take on the dare, and end up playing pranks on each other, and eventually fall asleep snuggled up next to each other. Fluffiness and shippiness. Fred/Ginger, and there's a little bit of Pan/Betty.</p>
            </blockquote>





	A Halloween Dare

**October 31, 1936:**

"So, tell me again, _why_ didn't Pan come along if he dared us to this silly idea?" A slightly annoyed female voice broke the silence of the chilly night. Anyone would have been able to recognize Ginger Rogers, the blonde dancing girl who had created a huge impact in her films alongside her partner, Fred Astaire. And it was by no coincidence that Fred was by her side as the two of them were trying to hop a wooden fence.

"I told you, Ginge, Pan had a date with Betty Grable." He was starting to deeply regret taking on the darre given to the two of them by Hermes Pan, their choreographer, and George and Ira Gershwin, the brothers that were going to compose and write lyrics for their next film. It was Halloween night, and the rest of Hollywood was probably at some swanky party thrown by David O. Selznick or Clark Gable, and here were the two biggest dancing stars, in an abandoned amusement park.

It all started when they were fooling around while watching some rushes for _Swing Time_. Pan had casually brought up the new amusement park that had opened, and Fred retorted that they were not little kids anymore. The conversation soon steered to the nearby abandoned amusement park, and the scandals that surrounded it before it closed. None of them knew the exact circumstances of its abandonment, since it was all before they arrived in Hollywood.

Then, George and Ira heard about it at the party Ginger threw after the premiere of _Swing Time_. One thing led to another - and there were Fred and Ginger, confronted by the eerie landscape of the amusement park. Broken horse heads from what used to be a merry-go-round were strewn around the remnants of the moss-covered carousel, and the ferris wheel that used to tower above the park was rotting and crumbling.

"I can't see anything." Fred complained as he made his way over the fence. Trust Fred Astaire to wear a suit and tie to go _anyplace_. Abandoned amusement parks included. It was a Brooks three-piece suit, no less, and he had brought along his black overcoat and dark brown fedora, which he was wearing.

"And you made fun of me for bringing a flashlight along." Ginger responded curtly, climbing over the fence with a little help from her dancing partner. "What are you gonna do, Ginge, scare the ghosts away with that little flashlight?" She mocked him in a poor imitation of his voice, trying not to let an idiotic grin onto her face as she handed him the flashlight. "So what are you gonna do, Freddie? Tap-dance the ghosts away? You can't machine-gun them with your cane, you know." Ginger added, her tone of voice showing that she was just kidding around.

"Just wait and see what I'll put in Pan's ice-cream as soon as I get out of here. He always eats ice-cream. And I'll find another way to get even with George and Ira." Fred muttered under his breath as he turned on the flashlight and shined it around. The metallic surface of a broken ride reflected the light back, making the tap-dancer narrow his eyes. "So, what do we do now?" He turned around, looking for Ginger. The dare only was for them to stay there the whole night without running off.

"Perhaps we should make sure there aren't any ghosts in here." She suggested, stepping over a log. At least she had been sensible enough to ditch the high heels in favor of flats this time. Fred could make fun of their height difference all he wanted - it wasn't like anybody was going to care in a dark amusement park anyway.

"How? Oh, I know! Maybe we should perform the Waltz in Swing Time and see if that will bring them out." He asked sarcastically, illuminating a couple of bumper cars - or what used to be bumper cars - with the flashlight. Fred didn't notice that glare that his dancing partner gave him in the dark, although she sure would have liked to smack him for the idiocy of that comment. "Gee, this place kinda gives me the creeps." He added after a moment of silence, forgetting all about those silly jokes. Judging by the tone of his voice, he really didn't like the atmosphere of the whole place.

"I get the same feeling." Ginger agreed. She had long given up thinking of a way to get back at Pan, George and Ira, and found herself subconciously moving closer to him. After all, Fred had been her partner for three years, and they had even been in a relationship before that. He made her feel safe and brought about that childish belief that the "monsters" couldn't get to her if she hid behind someone she trusted and loved.

And she sure trusted and loved him.

While Ginger was lost in those thoughts, Fred tried to walk a little bit faster, dissatisfied at himself for basically trotting along at a snail's pace. _You've had worse moments than these - you've woken up in your hotel room eight minutes before opening, you've had a hell of a lot of flop shows... and you're scared of an amusement park?_ He chided himself, as he almost tripped over a stone.

From what he could see, nature had already begun the process of reclaiming the park. The paved ground was covered with dandelions popping out of every crack, and ivy was creeping up the rusted metal railings. It all had a very otherwordly feel to it. Still, Fred was determined not to let the eerie atmosphere get the better of him. Besides, it would make a great bragging point whenever Pan or George got too annoying during rehearsals. Oh, it happened a lot, actually. And Fred and Ginger always ended up teaming up with each other in those little, playful stand-offs.

Of course, the two of them played tricks on each other all the time. And Ginger was one-up on him, since she had tricked him with that fake spider in his lunch a few days ago. Forgetting all of his misgivings about the place for a minute, Fred couldn't help but snicker at the chance to even up the score between them.

"Freddie?" Ginger asked, calling him by his nickname. That was how he knew that she was past all the jokes and the sarcasm. She seemed a little spooked, judging by the way her tone of voice had changed. When no answer came from the dark ahead of her, she tried again. "Fred? Fred... stop trying to fool me, I know you're there." She called out uncertainly as she stopped walking altogether.

There was still no reply.

"Fred Astaire, just _what_ are you trying to pull on me?" The dancer asked with a firm, almost annoyed hint to her voice, but the fact that she could barely see anything scared the daylights out of her. "Fred, stop it. Just come out... and stop it." Ginger added after another moment of silence passed. "Fred?" She felt her breaths quicken. What was she going to do without him? The sensible part of her mind told her that it was just a dirty trick on her dancing partner's part. Yet, she couldn't help fearing. What if... god forbid, what if he was lost, or hurt, or something? "Fred." She called into the darkness one more time.

Still, silence.

"Oh, Fred..." Now she couldn't deny that her heart was racing uncontrollably and that she was a little bit distraught. Ginger wouldn't cry, of course - she never cried. Even when her feet were bleeding in the "Never Gonna Dance" number. Even when they danced through the whole night and they were ready to drop from exhaustion. Even when the steps seemed too difficult for her to do. Nothing fazed her, and nothing made her cry. She just stood there, looking around, hoping that nothing untoward had happened to Fred.

"Boo!" The shout was so sudden and unexpected that Ginger couldn't help but scream as a figure jumped out right in front of her. Of course it was Fred, and she should have seen it coming, but she jumped back and stared at him for a good ten seconds, still shocked at what had happened.

"Oh, Fred, you, you-" Ginger was about to call him something that she had never called him before, seeing as he deserved it, but she was still so scared from what had just happened that she was at a loss for words. Of course he would do that! A fine thing for a so-called gentleman to do.

"Got ya there, didn't I, Feathers?" Fred was laughing at both her reaction and the fact that he had been able to pull one over on her. It always felt good to be the one to have the upper hand, and though he could bet that she wasn't going to let it remain that way for long, he could see that she was pretty distraught. "Aw, I was only kidding around." He shuffled over and put his arm around her, and much as Ginger would have liked to shove it away, she found the physical quite comforting.

"Don't- ever... do that again." She whispered, wishing that he knew how concerned she was for him when he was keeping quiet on purpose. The two of them kept walking for a while like that, with Ginger resting her head on his shoulder. Fred had to try his best not to step nto the numerous bracken ferns that lined the now-unpaved path. "What time... is it?" She finally broke the silence, her sentence punctuated with a yawn.

"I think it's close to midnight." Fred couldn't help but smile at the way she yawned, and an idea popped into his head. "Hey, why don't we go over there?" He pointed to the foot of what used to be a ferris wheel as he shone the flashlight in that direction. "I mean, it's not the Hotel Ritz, but it's the best we can do." He suggested. "After all, George said no sleeping bags."

"Oh, just wait until I get back at the three of them." Ginger plodded over to the brick foundation of the ferris wheel, which was covered with ivy and moss. "This has steadily turned out to be one of the worst ideas in my life." She sounded terribly drowsy, and she yawned again as she sat down on the grass.

Without a word, Fred settled down next to her, feeling a little spooked by the place, but at the same time, comforted by the presence of his dancing partner. Their feelings towards each other were mutual, to say the least, although they both expressed it through their little pranks on each other. With a little sigh, he closed his eyes, trying to get some sleep. After all, he had a habit of waking up very early, and he hadn't had his coffee that afternoon.

"Freddie." Ginger's voice broke him out of the half-asleep state that he had managed to lull himself into. "Freddie, I'm cold." She nudged him with her elbow, regretting the fact that she hadn't brought along her jacket. But, at the same time, she didn't want to ruin any of her full-length mink coats.

"Hmm? What?" Fred asked sleepily, his eyelids fluttering open as he barely registered what she had just said.

"I said, I'm cold." His partner repeated the statement as she moved a little closer to him for warmth.

"Oh. Here." He took off his overcoat and gestured for her to come even closer, which Ginger did. At least the coat was big enough for the two of them, and he had to admit, the physical contact made him feel all warm, not just on the outside, but on the inside. It felt nice to have someone in the world that you trusted so much, that you could take comfort in, barring all the silly pranks that they played on each other.

The two dancing partners found contentment in those thoughts as they managed to forget about their fears and fall into a deep, refreshing sleep. After all, they had each other to find solace in.

\---

"Where do you think they could be?" The next thing Fred knew, he heard voices and the breaking of twigs and footsteps. "I'm telling you, they both ran out on the dare." He opened his eyes to investigate the source of that statement, finding the person's voice rather familiar, but he closed them almost instantly against the bright sunlight.

"Hah, told you Fred and Ginge wouldn't make it without me!" Another triumphant voice joined the first person who had spoken.

_Pan...?_ After all, there could be only one person that spoke with a Southern drawl that Fred knew would come to an abandoned amusement park the morning after Halloween.

"Oh, shut up, Pan." And that was Ira. He could tell that was Ira, and the first person that spoke was George. "And you too, George. I hope you three realize that we're trespassing on private property." Ira added.

Fred decided to attempt opening his eyes again, this time pulling his fedora down over his eyes as he stood up with some effort. The overcoat slipped off his shoulders as he got up. At the same time, Ginger stirred a little bit at the movement, but she stubbornly refused to open her eyes and tried to return to slumber, not realizing that her partner had stood up.

"How long are we gonna look around here, anyway?" Pan asked, a little bit impatiently. The group was still out of Fred's line of sight, although he could tell that they were nearby.

"Oh, there's Freddie!" Okay, to say the least, he didn't expect to hear a girl's voice. But as she ran up to him, he realized that she was none other than Betty Grable. They had met briefly when they were working on _The Gay Divorcee_ , and Pan had taken quite a shine to her then. It had been two years already, but Fred supposed that she and Pan had had quite a time last night, considering that she was still with them in the morning.

"Fred! So you did make it, after all!" George walked up to him with a smile on his face, already wanting to know all about the silly antics that might have happened over the course of the night. His only regret was that they couldn't film the whole thing - what a treat that would have been!

"Yeah, barely." Fred replied, looking at the ground and trying hard not to shoot Pan and George glares. Now that he and Ginger _had_ made it, it was time for payback.

"Where's Ginge?" Ira asked. At least he wasn't gloating about the dare or anything like that, although, goodness knew, he had a pretty darn good sense of humor, too. "Oh, heya, Ginger!" The lyricist greeted the dancer, who had been woken up by the sound of voices, and was trying to dut off Fred's overcoat.

"Now that we're all here, let's go get some coffee or something, huh? It's freezing out here." Pan suggested, putting his arm around Betty, who was wearing _his_ overcoat.

"Ready, Feathers?" Fred asked, offering Ginger his arm as he put on his own coat. "I guess you slept well, huh?" He asked with a grin. She replied with a nod, still not fully awake. At least Pan had made an intelligent suggestion for once. George set about whispering things into his brother's ear, and the two of them looked more like a pair of gossiping high school girls than a renowned pair of siblings that composed music and wrote lyrics for important productions. Pan and Betty led the front of the group, their hands held tightly together.

As the six of them made their way to a break in the fence that Ira had found earlier, Ginger couldn't help but notice a puddle of some... mush. Well, she didn't want to know what was in it, but her mind thought of a brilliant way of getting back at Fred for the trick he pulled on her last night. As they passed by, she said nothing, but suddenly pulled herself away from him and shoved him into the puddle of muck.

Fred hadn't been expecting anything of the sort, and he fell backwards into it with a small yelp, unable to regain his balance in time. The other four members of the group suddenly turned around to see their big dancing star, all dirtied with what looked like mud, and they had to all admit that there was some humor in the situation. Actually, a _lot_ of humor.

"Hey! What was that- what was that for?!" Fred asked incredulously as he pulled himself out of the puddle, feeling like a perfect little idiot. So, his Brooks suit was ruined.

"Payback. For last night." Normally, Ginger felt no inclination to act childish, although she couldn't help but stick her tongue out at her dancing partner. That was fair payment for what he had done to her the night before.

"Aw, come on, Ginge. I thought we were a team. I thought we teamed up against the three- er, four of them." He feigned a look of hurt on his face. "But I'll have to give it to you. You're one up on me, now."

"Don't mess with Ginger. Come on, Freddie, I thought you would know that after all this time." George spoke in a condescending tone, trying very hard not to burst out into a fit of laughter, as Pan, Betty, and surprisingly, his brother had done.

"I thought _you_ would know that, too, George." Ginger retorted, hinting at her intentions to get even with all of them. "We are still a team, Freddie. If you say so." She hid a laugh at the way he was examining the damage done to his suit. "Come on, we'll get it fixed." With a small smile, she invited him in with a crook of her elbow.

"I wouldn't do that to any of your dresses." Nevertheless, Fred took her arm again, allowing himself a smile. "Except the feathers one. That I would have... well, never mind."

"Feathers, I hate feathers," Pan began the song that he and Fred had serenaded Ginger with to placate her. "And I hate them so that I can hardly speak!" He gestured to George and Ira to join in.

"And I never find the happiness I seek," George joined in. "With those chicken feathers, dancing cheek to cheek." He grinned, and soon, the whole lot of them were humming the tune as they made their way out of the chilly amusement park.


End file.
